With the proposed wind projects in Colebrook and Prospect currently being so hotly debated, perhaps it’s timely to consider a few points.

The Willimantic Whitewater Partnership has been given an $85,000 matching grant by the Savings Institute. “It’s a very generous offer from the Savings Institute,” said Dan Mullins, president of the partnership.

Frederick Krol last month became chairperson of CCSU’s Institute of Technology and Business Development (ITBD) Advisory Committee. Located in downtown New Britain, ITBD serves to facilitate local businesses. via The New Britain Herald : New Britain, Conn., and surrounding areas (newbritainherald.com). Blog this! Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin
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Connecticut’s new governor, Dannel Malloy, has talked about strengthening the state’s agricultural economy. Why not think bigger and connect agriculture with smart growth, The Hartford Courant asks?

If the economics of tight-knit walkable communities outperform suburban counterparts by more than 200 percent, as studies by the firm Public Interest Projects in North Carolina and Florida (Miami pictured above) have recently shown, then smart growth should be a goal.

A Monroe farmer is pushing the town to adopt a “right to farm” ordinance that would protect farmers from neighbors who might deem them a nuisance.

The state conservationist for the NRCS hasannounced an initiative designed to help agricultural producers transition to more energy-efficient operations.

Joan McDonald, who rose to become an important player in the administration of Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, is leaving to return to New York State.

The public hearing portion was a continuation from Dec. 1, and has been further continued to Jan. 19, 7:30 p.m., Old Saybrook Middle School.

The solar panel maker says that the new office will service customers and partners in the region.

Although the tracks remain in place from Haddam to Middletown, they haven’t been used in more than 40 years. So why not create a rails-to-trails project along the abandoned line? The right-of-way is owned by the state Department of Environmental Protection, which leases a 23-mile portion of the rails to the Essex Steam Train. via
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The town of Wethersfield implemented a new residential automated curbside single stream recycling collection system this past July, and the program is already bringing back rewards. via Wethersfield Post – Single stream recycling program nets huge rewards. Blog this! Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin share via Reddit Share
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Dr. Mark Mitchell will step down as President of Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice March 1. Since founding CCEJ in 1998 after hearing of a proposal to permanently locate a new “temporary” power plant on Hartford’s south side, Mitchell has led CCEJ in challending the overburden of environmental hazards in the state’s urban communities.

The state’s new governor may look to the past in shaping a transportation policy that would balance the state’s budget while easing traffic congestion.

The report released Tuesday on the Deepwater Horizon debacle uses two words the drillers didn’t want to hear: “systemic failure.” Make no mistake: The report says the oil and gas industry is unprepared for disasters like the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster of 2010.

Invoking the rule of law and science in the central Appalachian coalfields, the EPA has announced its long awaited and extensively researched decision today to veto the 2,300-acre mountaintop removal mining permit at the Spruce No. 1 Mine in West Virginia.

The working group developed as part of Gov. Dan Malloy’s transition team has suggested the new administration overhaul the state’s energy agencies and policy for a better, more affordable energy future. via Malloy group calls for energy overhaul | Hartford Business. Blog this! Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin
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WALLINGFORD – Town officials took heated questions from the public Tuesday night as the Town Council discussed whether to create a reserve account in its ongoing contract with the new owner of the trash-to-energy-plant in town, Covanta Energy. via Wal Town Council approves incinerator fund – Local News from Myrecordjournal.com. Blog this! Bookmark on Delicious
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Fairfield Green Drinks has stayed true to its grassroots mission, which is simply to spark discussions, Fairfield Green Drinks organizer Daphne Dixon said. “There’s a lot of heart in it,” Dixon said. “It’s more than a chamber mixer.” “It’s more casual than name tags,” Remy Chevalier, who runs an environmental library in Norwalk, said. Those
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The April 20 Deepwater Horizon explosion that claimed 11 lives and unleashed an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico was caused by “a failure of management,” the National Oil Spill Commission concludes in its final report.

Why doesn’t the senator want to see the city progress? That was the question from one Herald reader after learning that her state senator, New Britain’s Donald DeFronzo, had criticized the state Department of Transportation, charging that the agency shifted funds from other projects to cover the escalating cost of the proposed busway between New
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